Musa Kida, the interim committee head of the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF), has blamed Nigeria's early elimination from the Tokyo Olympics on a reduction in technical staff personnel.
Mr. Kida made the revelation in a conversation with reporters in Abuja while discussing the federation's operations ahead of the next board election.
Nigeria's D'Tigers and D'Tigress were both eliminated in the Olympics' group stage, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). This followed an outstanding build-up to the games in which D'Tigers defeated highly ranked US and Argentine teams.
The NBBF president, who expressed regret at not making the Olympic team, described how the International Olympic Committee (IOC) provided an order to decrease the technical crew from eight to three officials through the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC).
We were always entitled to a full complement of officials throughout the Games, but after our preparations and arrival at the Olympic venue, the NOC issued an order limiting us to three officials, including just two technical officials.
I was disappointed to learn that they will only accept three of our technical officials, rather than the eight or nine that we have been accustomed to. This had a significant impact on the squad and lost them the first two games, he explained.
He got further concerned when he observed that other teams had full complements of their technical crew at the start of the games, which made him question whether it was tactical sabotage.
As the games began, we got increasingly skeptical. We learned that other countries, including those with fewer athletes than us, we're carrying a full complement of coaches and officials.
The players were undoubtedly demoralized as a result of their inability to get technical instruction from their coaches. NBBF, on the other hand, made certain that everyone was present on the ground.
Without a doubt, that harmed us tremendously. We questioned the Basketball Federation, FIBA, who claimed ignorance as to why the IOC issued such a directive during the Olympics. He said that the scenario was the same for both the men's and women's teams.
Mr. Kida, on the other hand, stated that Sunday Dare, Minister of Youth and Sports Development, has to step in to ensure a modest increase in the technical crew and promote confidence in the camp.
When the minister saw the situation on the ground, he rallied his troops to ensure that the number of our officials on the team had increased.
The minister was quite helpful in ensuring that the number of officials was increased. We had already lost our first two Olympic games.
However, he stated that the federation took the occasion to develop and showcase younger players as well as home-based players as part of future plans. He praised Coach Mike Brown for his devotion and professionalism and stated that the NBBF was eager to retain him in order to further promote the game in the country owing to his extensive expertise.
Mr. Kida stated that the current NBBF had lifted the ban in the country's basketball growth, culminating in the qualifying of both male and female teams for the Olympics for the first time in history.
He stated that he is willing to serve in any position in the next NBBF elections, which are scheduled for September 30, in order to solidify the game's development in the country.
Read More:
No comments:
Post a Comment